


To not be, for a while

by Merkwerkee



Category: Void Jumpers
Genre: magic artifacts, ninja skills, poor communication skills
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:40:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27373597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merkwerkee/pseuds/Merkwerkee
Summary: The magic of the Blight planet drains away nearly all other forms of magic - and an ancient artifact lets Tag try out someone else's skills for a change
Kudos: 1





	To not be, for a while

Tag couldn’t suppress the silly grin that played about his lips even as he nocked an arrow. The fact that he did it smoothly, that his hands didn’t waver and his muscles didn’t protest the motion only added to the sense of giddy happiness that left him feeling on top of the world.

Part of that was probably the fact that he was literally above everyone else, that’d he’d managed to ninja flip himself into the rafters of the inn - and how _cool_ was that? He, Tag, had managed to do moves that he’d never even seen Rex do, and he’d seen Rex do some pretty sick stunts. It’d been like that out in the swamp too - he hadn’t known he could, hadn’t even thought about moving that way, but he’d somehow managed to hop from tree stump to tree branch to log to lily pad to one particularly sweet move that had him swinging on a vine in the gap between some trees.

He had never done anything like that before; he’d never even considered that he could. Ever since he was young he’d always been clumsier than the other kids his age, prone to knocking his shins against furniture, forgetting things he was literally holding in his hand, tripping on slightly uneven flooring, hitting his elbows or hips against doorframes or doorknobs. Most days it wasn’t too bad, but some days it almost felt like he hadn’t even really been present in his body and those were the days he did stupid things like break his elbow falling down the stairs or break his foot by dropping something heavy on it that he’d misjudged the clearance on.

Tag knew why that happened now, of course. A lot of things about him as a kid had suddenly made a lot more sense after what they’d found in the depths of the Water planet - he just wished they didn’t. He and Bryn hadn’t really discussed what had happened on the Water planet - not his actions, not hers, and he didn’t know how she felt about…everything. It was, it was a lot, even before you factored in the whole keeping her from dying thing. His half-dad, the nature of his existence, his role in events past and events yet to come…

He didn’t want to think about it.

And that was the really wonderful thing about the amulet; _he didn’t have to_. By immersing himself in the physicality it granted, he didn’t have to think about any of it. He could just _be_ , in a way he’d never done on this side of Reality. It felt right, in a fashion he’d only ever felt when he stepped outside of himself in that Other place, and that was enough. Feeling his lungs work, knowing where every inch of his body was at any given moment, knowing exactly how to make it move from point a to point b and keep balanced while doing so - it was exhilarating. It made him feel _alive_ , and Tag had to wonder if this was what Rex felt like all the time and that was why she worked out so much. There was a freedom in surety that he’d never before experienced, and he clung to it.

It all came from the amulet, of course; he could feel its magic humming through his body. While he’d never received proper magical training from the Order Parallel - had never manifested one single element strongly enough for them to feel it warranted training - he had been exposed to all the elements at one point or another while he’d lived at the Monastery and knew what it felt like. Granted, that was because he’d been on the receiving end of far too many magical training accidents but he’d managed to make it through alive and that was really what counted.

Tag couldn’t quite place the magic from the amulet, but its effects were undeniable. Not that he was denying them - quite the opposite, Tag embraced them with a relieved sort of happiness. He didn’t _need_ to use magic here, he had the bow. He didn’t _need_ to look into the phase state here, he could sneak through above and around nearly any obstacle with others none the wiser. He didn’t have to reach out to touch Bryn’s thoughts and meet with any kind of fear or hesitation because of what he was and what he was destined to do, he had the dexterity to work his way through any lock or puzzle.

He didn’t have be Tag, Scion of Evil, Parallel of the Order Parallel to the Fire Summoner-to-be, Screw-up; he could be Tag, Rogue Extraordinaire.

And that would be a _relief_.


End file.
